Put quite simply - the energy doesn't go into destroying objects. There's only a very small amount going into heating things up from mechanical deformation [an

Put quite simply - the energy doesn't go into destroying objects. There's only a very small amount going into heating things up from mechanical deformation [and a bit into spinning], but fundamentally, splitting something in a million pieces just means you have a million pieces that have the same total kinetic energy in orbit. However, they also exchange kinetic energy & impulse with each other, meaning you get a mix of slower and faster pieces. This is what the Gabbard diagram shows: https://twitter.com/EU_SST/status/1380443036862316545 https://twitter.com/EU_SST/status/1380443036862316545 Anything that is sped up in the collision (i.e. "steals" energy from another piece) has the same perigee (orbit low point) but a higher apogee (orbit high point.) The reverse happens to anything slowed down / stolen from. That's why the graph looks like open scissors. Some pieces with lower perigee will friction against earth atmosphere and burn up, but the ones with higher apogee become a serious problem... (also, for anyone who can't remember to distinguish apogee & perigee: think of your periphery, it's the things close to you :D)